Protests Flare Up in Tehran

CHIP CUMMINS

DUBAI -- On a day usually marked in Iran by solidarity in support of the Palestinians, security services clashed Friday with demonstrators, who have defied weeks of arrests to protest the country's contested June presidential elections.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, ratcheted up anti-Israel rhetoric ahead of his expected visit to New York later this month for the United Nations General Assembly. He called the Holocaust "mythical" and a pretext for the foundation of Israel, according to press reports of his speech marking Quds, or Jerusalem, Day.

Reuters

Iranians shouted slogans during a rally marking Quds Day in Tehran.

Mr. Ahmadinejad has questioned the historical validity of the Holocaust on other occasions. But his comments Friday are expected to heighten controversy surrounding his New York visit. They could also raise skepticism over prospects for recently agreed talks between Iran, the U.S. and other Western powers set for Oct. 1.

Iranian democracy advocates and human-rights groups, along with Jewish groups, are already gearing up for demonstrations and rallies next week in the U.S. to protest violence and alleged human-rights abuses related to the elections.

On Friday, tens of thousands of government supporters attended rallies across Iran to mark Quds Day -- a day set aside in Iran to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Thousands of supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mr. Ahmadinejad's key rival in the presidential polls, marched separately, wearing the opposition's trademark green wristbands and shawls. They clashed with security forces and pro-government supporters in various locations early in the day, according to several reports by international news services.

View Slideshow

Reuters

A supporter of defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi pleads with police during a rally Friday.

Since the election, Iranian authorities have restricted reporting of events not authorized by the government and have refused to renew or grant journalist visas for most of the international press. That has news services with staff in Tehran relying on eyewitness accounts of clashes, making it difficult to assess crowd size or the seriousness of violence.

Still, reports from around Tehran suggested Friday's opposition marches were the largest in more than a month. During one rally, security services clashed with protesters and arrested 10, according to Reuters. The news agency said Ahmadinejad supporters separately clashed with Mousavi supporters along Tehran's main thoroughfare, Vali Asr Street.

More

• WSJ.com/Iran: News, video photos, more

The Associated Press reported midday Friday that a group of Iranian hard-liners attacked Mohammad Khatami, a reformist former president while he was marching with opposition supporters at an anti-government rally in Tehran.

The AP, citing an opposition website, said attackers pushed Mr. Khatami to the ground, but that fellow marchers repelled the assailants and took the former president to safety. Mr. Khatami has sided with the opposition in the post-election crisis.

Opposition leaders allege the June vote, in which election officials said Mr. Ahmadinejad won in a landslide, was rigged. Government supporters say the elections reflected the will of the people and have accused the opposition of fomenting violence.